


Rodney and Teyla music ficlet

by kisahawklin



Series: Unfinished and discontinued fic [14]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Gen, Post-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-16
Updated: 2013-09-16
Packaged: 2017-12-26 18:29:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/968885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kisahawklin/pseuds/kisahawklin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Teyla doesn't understand how complex an instrument an orchestra is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rodney and Teyla music ficlet

**Author's Note:**

> Tried to finish this for the 10 in 10 challenge, but finishing WIPs in a fandom I'm only peripherally in is proving to be too much for me. I'm posting my WIPs that are just never going to happen, and maybe clearing out the folder will help.

There were things Teyla appreciated about Mr. Woolsey. The consideration he gave his people was chief among them. When they had been stuck on Earth and it was evident that they would be staying a while, he had made all the necessary arrangements to allow Teyla and Ronon to see Earth; or some of it, anyway. 

The planet itself was not that much larger than any she had been on before, but so much more of it was populated. She could not even begin to comprehend the size and scope, even after John had taken her into orbit in a puddlejumper and they had looked at all the lights. Not when she looked at the improbable height of the skyscrapers and the sheer volume of buildings in San Francisco. Not when she went shopping with the credit card Mr. Woolsey had arranged and felt like screaming in the midst of all the people, so blithely unaware. 

When it became too much, when the awe or wonder or frustration became overwhelming, she returned to Atlantis and spent time in meditation, purposefully breathing and centering herself.

Mr. Woolsey had also gifted her with a sound system. She liked the iPod John had given her years ago, but the sound of music piped directly into her ears was completely different from the sound of music resonating in the room around her. There was a lot of music that she did not understand for one reason or another, but as she grew accustomed to one type, she moved on to something else, branching out to experience as much of it as possible. It seemed like she would never be able to listen to it all.

Mr. Woolsey had given her several albums with her sound system. "They're mostly classical," he'd said, and she'd smiled and thanked him. She could not comprehend them, really; they were a cacophony of sound and she had trouble keeping track of all of the different musical motives and timbres. She was on the third album when there was a ping at her door.

"Come in," she called, and smiled to see Rodney standing in her doorway. There was a split-second when Rodney looked the same as ever, about to launch into a rapid-fire speech about something, but then his face morphed into a look of complete surprise.

"That's Van Cliburn," he said reverently. "Playing Tchaikovsky." He turned to her, clearly expecting something from her. When she didn't answer, he turned to her sound system, as if he could see the music coming out of it. "This is one of my favorite recordings. There's never been another artist to play it so perfectly."

Teyla smiled at Rodney. "I'm sorry to say I cannot follow it very well," she said. "It is all a jumble of sound. What kind of instrument sounds like that?"

Rodney turned to look at her, scowling. "It's an orchestra," he said, and she shrugged. She'd never heard of an orchestra before. It must be a massive instrument, with many moving parts. John had shown her his guitar when he got it, and it was nice, but the sound was so much simpler than this. This sort of complicated instrument definitely seemed like it would appeal to Rodney.

"I think something smaller would be more to my taste."

"Well, it's an orchestra with a piano solo," Rodney said right over the top of her. 

She sighed. A headache was already starting because of the music and she just wanted to turn it off and take a nap. "Oh," Rodney said, looking at her. "Wait, I…" He looked her up and down. "Do you have a headache?"

It was her turn to be surprised. "Why, yes," she answered, trying to hide her amazement.

"You squint when you have a headache," Rodney said, smiling apologetically at her. "Why don't I leave you alone? I have some things I want to take care of. But I'll be back tonight, if that's okay. I have something I want to show you."

"That would be perfect," Teyla said, grateful Ronon had been pestering Rodney to practice his social skills. It was funny, the point system they used to tally Rodney's social progress. She would have to inform Ronon he deserved at least thirty points for recognizing her headache-face and another fifty for a well-timed exit. He turned to the sound system and pushed the power button, the silence of the room nearly overwhelming in the absence of the music. She sighed in relief. "Thank you."

Rodney smiled, looking sad, for some reason. "You're welcome," he said. "I'll be back in a few hours. I hope you feel better."

~~~

After her nap, Teyla left the music off. She would make another attempt tomorrow, but for today she just wanted a little silence.

She meditated for a while after waking; keeping her mind quiet when coming out of rest was always easy and helped her concentration for the remainder of the day. She spent some time stretching as well, but it wasn't long before she was feeling restless and wanting to go out for a walk. 

She decided to find Rodney later. It couldn't have been anything urgent or he wouldn't have volunteered to come back later. She sat down to lace her shoes and the door chimed as she was tying them.

"Come in," she said, and the door opened on Rodney.

"Hi," he said, taking her in with a quick once-over. "Is this a bad time?"

"No," Teyla answered honestly, "but I have a bit of cabin fever and would prefer it if we could walk and talk."

"Oh, perfect!" Rodney grinned at her. "I was hoping you'd accompany me to an orchestra concert."

Teyla tried not to grimace; she was probably successful because Rodney just kept going.

"I know you have a hard time hearing all of the sounds, so I found an orchestra playing Peter and the Wolf. It's the perfect orchestra 101 piece."

This time Teyla did grimace. "I don't know, Rodney, all that noise, it…"

"Gave you a headache," Rodney said, and Teyla nodded. "This won't be like that, I promise. Trust me. We can leave if you can't handle it."

Teyla sighed. "Where is this concert?"

"Minneapolis. And they have snow – we could make a snowman afterwards."

Teyla rolled her eyes at him. His love of snow despite the cold was endlessly endearing.

~~~

When they got to the jumper bay, she was surprised to see Major Teldy. "Anne. I didn't know you were coming."

"You have to let one of the licensed puddlejumper pilots drive," Rodney said disdainfully, "or I'd be taking us myself."

She wondered why John had not offered to take them. Perhaps Anne liked orchestras too and wanted to go to the concert. There was no way to ask so her curiosity would have to wait until later. "Well, thank you, Anne, for taking us to the concert."

Anne's eyebrows shot up but she only said, "You're welcome, of course. Anytime."

~~~

As it turned out, an orchestra was not one instrument, but many. Dozens. She had never seen so many musicians work together in such a way. She had been part of group songs and improvisational music on many worlds, but there was nothing like this. They were all working together, doing different things but moving together, like a single breathing being. It was amazing.

Watching the different instruments play as the story unfolded was like watching a dramatic re-telling of a story, but so much better – with music that made the story come to life. She could see the animals as clear as day as their instruments played their themes.

She sat forward in her seat, often leaning in to the person in front of her. Rodney had to put a hand on her arm more than once to settle her back into her seat. Her skin was buzzing with the excitement of it all; the only thing keeping her from levitating was Rodney's warm hand on her arm, a heavy weight tethering her to the red velvet seat.

At intermission she turned to Rodney and took him up in a hug; she could see the surprise in his face but he accepted her hug and she could tell he was glad she was happy. "That was incredible," she said, pulling back and ending with a traditional head touch. "Thank you so much for sharing it with me."

Rodney looked surprisingly emotional; not all of it positive. She took his hand. "Are you okay?"

He smiled at her, a sad smile like the one in her room. "Fine. I'm not sure you'll want to stay for the second half; it's a piano concerto. Like the piece you were listening to in your quarters."

"We can stay if you like." At Rodney's dubious look, she continued, "I understand it better now – I don't think it will be overwhelming."

"I wouldn't bet on that," Rodney muttered. "It's _Rachmaninoff_."

~~~


End file.
